Merry Christmas and welcome to the last #wabisabiwednesdays post of the year!
Today, I want to acknowledge the progress you have made this year. 2024 may not have been perfect in any way, and obstacles might have swayed your plans and intentions, but you are here, and if you’re reading this, know that there is someone proud to have you in their life.
The one value we all need to allow into our lives at this point is acceptance.
Acceptance is defined as acknowledging and embracing all thoughts, feelings, and experiences without judgment, even unpleasant or distressing ones.
Why is acceptance necessary?
Acceptance is usually influenced by some sort of vast difficulty pushing us into complete surrender. However, when we are acting out of ego, it can be very hard for us to acknowledge these hurdles and allow them to coexist while we reframe and recalibrate.
Acceptance does NOT mean you agree with or even fully understand the way your life is—especially if you disagree with the unforeseen circumstances and detours. However, the aspect of surrender present in acceptance allows us to move on and work with the obstacle instead of fighting it.
In The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday, he writes: “There is no good or bad without us; there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.”
So, how do we allow acceptance? How do we instill this practice?
Let me walk you through it, and as I do, take this time to reflect on what 2024 has meant for you.
Reflections
What were your intentions for this year?
Think back to this time last year—what did you want 2024 to look like for you?
Something I love to do is create a word or theme for each year. Whenever things run off course (as they usually do), I come back to that word to remind myself what this year means to me. Some examples might be “Trust,” “Discipline,” “Focus,” “Magic,” or “Connection.” This practice instantly shifts your focus to what you want to implement instead of what is deterring you from your goals and intentions.
What were the great things that happened this year?
It is crucial to acknowledge your achievements and celebrate them just as much as we focus on our flaws. As mentioned in one of our previous #wabisabiwednesday blog posts, our brain has a negativity bias in the amygdala, which can obstruct us from seeing the positives.
Practice feeling the emotions you experienced when you achieved your goals or when you felt at peace, happy, connected, seen, validated, surprised, or even miraculous. This can truly reframe the way you see 2024 and remind you that good things did happen too.
What went wrong?
This might be a tough question to navigate, especially because, for some, it could have been career struggles, the loss of someone important, or even losing themselves and their power over a crucial aspect of their life.
Allow the feelings to exist within you. Acknowledge them. It’s okay to feel. It’s not going to kill you—it might feel like it, but it won’t. Believe it or not, you are not your feelings.
I know this is an extremely privileged stance to take, as feelings can overtake your life and control your days. But feelings are ultimately teachers. They highlight what was important to you. They make you human. They allow you to relate to others and create more connection.
How can you start to shift your perspective around these feelings?
When feelings coexist with our environment, the only way to shift them is often by shifting our environment. The irony of healing is that you have to remove your focus from healing in order to heal. You have to place your focus elsewhere.
This creates space in your life, allowing you to coexist with these feelings without letting them control you anymore.
Some ways to do this include taking up a hobby, joining a therapy group, moving to a new city, making changes within your home (like painting your walls a new color), refreshing your wardrobe, taking more time for rest, and more. These simple acts of introducing newness into your life can create peace.
In turn, this peace will transform into acceptance over time.
Ask yourself:
What actions can you take—not next year, but today—to create that space? Every day, when you wake up, ask yourself: What can I do today to create space and take autonomy over my life?
2025 will be a big year for many of us due to the energetic shifts we all feel. I believe you feel it too because you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t believe in something bigger than yourself.
What is your word for 2025? What do you want to feel? Who do you want to be remembered as this year? What small steps can you take to achieve that?
Acceptance might seem like a practice implemented to force feelings away and be at peace once and for all, but it’s really a slow and sometimes unsteady process. It creates distance between you and the things outside of your control, thus allowing you to implement true power and control.
You can face this.
See you next year.
By: Ranya I.
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